Missing parent disappeared from FAFSA after login - how to add second parent back?

This exact thing happened to me last month! The FAFSA system is glitchy with the two-parent contribution this year. What likely happened is that when you corrected the original error, the system reset some of your household information. To fix this, you need to: 1. Log back in to studentaid.gov with your FSA ID 2. Go to your son's FAFSA application and select "Edit FAFSA Form" 3. Navigate to the Parent Demographics section 4. There should be a question about marital status - make sure it's set correctly 5. Then you'll need to re-enter your spouse's information 6. Save and submit the changes After you do this, the system should regenerate the email invitation to your husband. It's crucial to have both parents' information if you're married filing jointly, as it affects your SAI calculation significantly.

my daughtr had same issue last week!! try logging out complety then logging back in? sometmes browser cache causes weird glitches w the fafsa site

This is a known issue with the 2025-2026 FAFSA. When you make corrections to certain fields, the system sometimes drops the second parent data. There are two ways to address this: 1. The method mentioned above (edit the Parent Demographics section) 2. If that doesn't work, you may need to submit a correction request through your son's account Very important: After making these changes, take screenshots of the confirmation page. Some schools are requesting these as proof that you've submitted the correction, especially for priority deadlines. Also note that any correction typically adds 3-5 business days to processing time, so factor that into your timeline for the March 1st deadline.

I had a similar thing happen but it was actually showing MY parents instead of me and my wife (I'm the parent of the student). The new FAFSA system is SO confusing and the relationship questions make no sense. Make sure when you're fixing it that you're answering the parent relationship questions correctly - they word them in the most confusing way possible!

After spending HOURS trying to reach someone at Federal Student Aid about a similar issue, I finally found a service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual human being. They basically hold your place in the phone queue and call you when an agent is about to answer. Saved me so much frustration! Check out their demo video: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ or their website claimyr.com The agent I spoke with said this parent-disappearing issue is happening because of how the data validation works in the new system. They had to put in a manual override on my application to fix it, since the normal correction process wasn't working.

AM I THE ONLY ONE COMPLETELY FED UP with this new FAFSA system?!?! It's been NOTHING but problems since day one!! First they delay the launch by MONTHS, then when it finally goes live nothing works right, and now people's information is just DISAPPEARING?? My daughter lost a $5000 scholarship because her FAFSA wasn't processed in time due to all these "technical difficulties". And good luck getting ANY help from FSA - complete joke!! This is people's EDUCATION and FUTURE we're talking about!

UPDATE on the parent disappearing issue: Just heard from my financial aid counselor that in some cases, even after you add the second parent back, the system isn't generating new email invitations properly. If this happens to you, have the second parent create their own FSA ID (if they don't already have one), and then they should be able to access the student's FAFSA directly as a contributor by logging in with their own credentials. Also, @OP - regarding expediting the process: Yes, if you can actually reach someone at FSA, they can flag your application for expedited processing if you explain about the scholarship deadline. Make sure to have the student's FSA ID, SSN, and DOB ready when you call.

Just wanted to follow up - I saw a lot of families with this exact issue at the FAFSA workshop I helped run last weekend. The technical reason this happens is that the system sometimes fails to properly link the second parent's FSA ID with the student's application during corrections. One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet: check if your spouse's email address and SSN were entered exactly the same way between the original application and the correction. Even small differences (like a capitalized letter in the email) can cause the system to treat them as different people. Also, call your son's financial aid office directly - many schools are aware of these FAFSA glitches and have procedures to accept provisional SAI calculations while families sort out the technical issues.

UPDATE: I finally got this resolved! For anyone facing the same issue in the future, here's what worked: 1. I tried the edit method first, but it didn't generate a new invitation for my husband 2. Used Claimyr to reach an FSA agent (took about 30 minutes instead of hours) 3. The agent confirmed there's a known bug with parent contributor information disappearing during corrections 4. They had to manually reset something on their end related to my husband's FSA ID association 5. After the reset, we had to wait 24 hours, then my husband was able to log in with his FSA ID and access the application The agent also put in a request to expedite our processing once all information is submitted. Fingers crossed we make the March 1st deadline! Thank you all for your help!

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now! My spouse's information also vanished after we made corrections to our daughter's FAFSA. Based on what I've been reading here, it seems like this is a widespread issue with the 2025-26 system. One thing I wanted to add that might help others - if you're still having trouble after trying the edit method, check your email spam/junk folders. Sometimes the system DOES send out the new parent invitation emails, but they get filtered as spam because they're coming from a different server after corrections are processed. Also, for anyone dealing with tight scholarship deadlines, I'd recommend emailing the financial aid offices directly with screenshots showing the technical issues you're experiencing. Many schools are being understanding about FAFSA delays this year and may extend their internal deadlines or work with estimated information. Thanks for sharing your solution @StarSurfer - definitely bookmarking Claimyr for future reference!